Norman Raymond Tyler

Norm graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 1962 and had one year of community college before transferring to the University of Michigan to pursue a degree in Architecture. After one semester, he received an invitation to join the Peace Corps in a Rural Construction program in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He completed his two years as a Volunteer, then participated in a six month Peace Corps training program in Grenada. In 1966, he returned to the University of Michigan School of Architecture and Design and graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Architecture. It was in architecture school that he met his future wife, Ilene, a fellow student.

Norm and Ilene married after college and served together as VISTA architects in Baltimore for two years. Next, they moved onto seventy-five acres in southwestern Pennsylvania where they built a house in the woods while also starting an architecture and planning practice. Josh and Joseph were born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

During their years in Pennsylvania, Norm and Ilene discovered the field of Historic Preservation, serving as architects for the Main Street Program in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Norm was accepted into the University of Michigan Doctoral program in Architecture in September 1983, thus necessitating their move to Ann Arbor. He received his doctoral degree in 1987 and applied for a teaching position at Eastern Michigan University, while concurrently earning his Ph.D. in Planning at Michigan State University.

Norm worked as an architect, a planner, a professor of urban planning, and an author of several books. His greatest joy in his later years was as an author. He published seven books, two of which were co-authored with his wife, Ilene, and one with his friend and colleague Rocky Ward. Ted Ligibel joined the team for the 3rd edition of his Historic Preservation book. He was grateful in his final days to see his biography of Harriet Quimby in print. A final book on his ancestor Job Tyler was in progress and may yet be published posthumously.

Norm was actively involved in the Ann Arbor community. He advocated passionately for better urban development and led the creation of the Ann Arbor Bicentennial Smart Tours. His hobbies included building model train layouts in every place he lived. He wrote many songs for the piano, including a full musical with libretto and dialogue. Norm and Ilene both loved singing in the Ann Arbor Civic Chorus.

Norm is preceded in death by his parents Norma Burkall Tyler and Charles Raymond Tyler, as well as one brother, Warren Tyler.

Norm is survived by his wife, Ilene Rogers Tyler, two sons Joshua and Joseph, and two grandchildren. He is also survived by one brother, Marvin Tyler, and two sisters, Anette Tyler Snyder and Charlene Tyler Barnard.

The family would like to thank Norm’s extended family and many friends for the care and compassion they showed Norm throughout his cancer journey and during his final days.

Family and friends are invited to attend an informal gathering for Norm’s interment at Forest Hill Cemetery, 415 Observatory Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan on Monday, August 3, 2026, at 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, consider donating in Norm’s honor to Schools for Salone (Sierra Leone), 9215 40th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115-3712, or World Central Kitchen, P.O. Box 96538, Washington, DC 20090 or the Michigan Theater Foundation, 603 E. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.